The Southern Africa Poultry Initiative (SAPI) – Feed Accelerator Grand Challenge, led by AECF with support from a robust partner network, seeks ideas that tackle systemic issues in poultry feed value chains. The aim is to make poultry feed more affordable and accessible, particularly for women, youth, and smallholder poultry farmers. If your idea innovates in feed production, distribution, or uses novel ingredients, this could be your opportunity.
Why This Matters
- Poultry remains one of the most affordable sources of animal protein across Southern Africa. But feed costs are a major barrier to scaling production. Reducing these costs can improve food security, generate jobs, and raise incomes for smallholder and marginalized producers.
- The regions targeted (Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique) are experiencing population growth, rising demand for poultry, but still face high import dependency and underdeveloped local feed sectors.
What You’ll Receive
- Up to USD $20,000 in funding and technical assistance to refine your poultry feed innovation.
- Mentorship, advisory support, and capacity building in feed formulation, marketing, business management, climate-smart raw materials, and distribution.
- Opportunity to submit a concept note, get shortlisted for further due diligence and to develop more detailed proposals.
Who Is Eligible
Applicants should meet most of the following:
- Be a private business, NGO, academia, or industry association working on poultry feed or related value chain innovation.
- Have at least 2 years of operational history.
- Annual turnover or operating budget of at least USD $50,000.
- Legally registered and able to deliver in one or more of the target countries: Zambia, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique. Proposals must be implementable in these.
- Demonstrate how women and youth will benefit or be included.
- Comply with environmental, labour, and regulatory standards; show financial soundness.
- How to Apply (Step-by-Step)
- Prepare a concise concept note describing your innovation idea for feed production or distribution, how it reduces cost or improves quality, the geographic scope, and the team.
- Ensure your business meets the eligibility criteria (registration, financial standing, capacity to scale).
- Include details on inclusion of women and youth.
- Submit your application through the AECF Submittable portal before October 15, 2025. (aecf.submittable.com)
- Shortlisted applicants will be asked to develop full proposals with budget, due diligence, and possibly pilot or test data.
Tips to Strengthen Your Application
- Use local raw materials or novel feed ingredient blends to reduce dependency on imports.
- Show evidence of market demand or stakeholder interest (smallholders, cooperatives, feed millers).
- Have a business model that can scale — think downstream distribution, partnerships, subsidies, out-grower models.
- Present financials if available; clarity on cost structure matters.
- Be explicit on how women and youth will benefit in terms of jobs, leadership, or supply chain roles.
Deadline: October 15, 2025